Inside Out

Wow, this flu just won't let up! Nothing new to put up, but I'm tired of not posting anything, so here's another one from the back catalog. This is the view out of my car's passenger window during the last good rain we had. I hear we might get a bit more within the week. :)

I'm only partially satisfied with the way this one turned out; the focus could have been sharper, for example.

Sick Day 3

Yep.

Sick Day 2

Still sick as a dog. What does that even mean, anyway?

Sick Day 1

I can't even recall the last time I've been this sick. My temperature last night was 104°. I've been in no mood for even getting out of bed, let alone taking and processing pictures. Sorry.

Soldier that I am, though, I did manage to grab this little snapshot.

Mixer

I set up my turntables yesterday. I'd taken them down because they take up a lot of room, and I needed more space and less clutter. It's been too long! I suck at beatmatching again. ;_; Anyway, here's a closeup of my mixer.

Sidewalk Monkey Butt

The sidewalk turns out to be a good source of photo subjects if you look hard enough. Who knew? Apparently some kids call these "monkey butts," although I believe they're actually some kind of anchoring pin. But who am I to argue? Plus monkey butt is just fun to say.

The Key

But the key to what? Actually, it's just the mailbox. ;)

I'm not really a big fan of this photo, but the damned blog's called 366 Days, so I can't leave a day out!

Dandelion Sprout

I think this is some form of dandelion, anyway. This guy's growing out of the sidewalk on our street. Heather and I were walking to get the mail midday, and the shadow seemed really appealing to me. So I busted out the camera!

I love the short days and long shadows of the winter months.

US Apology

Sorry, I don't have a photo for you today. But here's a rather amusing screenshot to ponder. Innocent misspelling, or secret venting of frustration? You be the judge! You'll have to go to the Flickr page to see it, I think.

Successful Quest!

I went to a bunch of places in Carlsbad today in search of my much-coveted crimson-and-onyx Nintendo DS. It's too bad I didn't want a pink one, because several stores had those. Everyone told me the same story: They're totally sold out, and they don't know when they'll get a substantial shipment of new units, and check back in a few days. Apparently the backlog goes all the way back to Nintendo, which basically means that they can't make DSes fast enough to satisfy demand!

You can see from the photo above that I did manage to track one down! The Sears website (oddly enough) has an in-store pickup option which I checked mostly just for the sake of thoroughness, but was pleasantly surprised when it told me that one was available for pickup—and at my local, um, location at that! I bought it online immediately, went to the store, and picked it up with nary a hitch. Awesome! ^_^v

I also learned a valuable lesson about retail store stock records. At one Best Buy, the girl I talked to checked the stock on the computer and reported that while her store didn't have any DSes, the one in Mira Mesa did. I saw with my own two eyes that it did indeed have several. I called the Mira Mesa location just moments later, and the operator—who was the very definition of customer service—reported less-than-politely that they had none. Not even enough time elapsed between the question and the answer for her to have looked up from her nails to check the stock. The same basic scenario played out at Sears earlier in the day as well. Anyway, said lesson is that you shouldn't take telephone operators' word for it if you're looking for a hard-to-find item. Go to the store and be insistent that they actually physically check for your item. Perhaps this is common sense, but it wasn't for naïve little me...

At least the cosmic balance is restored, and my DS now matches my bedding, my car, and several outfits. All is well. ;)

Turntables Are Cool, Too

Again nothing note- or photo-worthy happened today, so here's another from yesterday's distraction.

In a world of bitstreams and iPods and little plastic discs, there's just something inherently awesome about the bulk and presence of vinyl and its associated equipment. And DJing is a hell of a lot of fun besides.

Records Are Cool

I've been recording some records to the computer so I can put them on my iPod. I got a bit distracted at one point and started taking some pictures, of which this is one. This is me peeping through an Aphex Twin picture disc (Analord 10) that I bought not too long ago. Vinyl is way more fun to collect than CDs or MP3s. The only problem, of course is that records are also way more expensive. I saw a vinyl album of Nine Inch Nails's Year Zero at—ugh—Hot Topic, and it was $35. Ouch!

Stationery Vehicle

Here's another one that I took yesterday. This trailer is parked in an empty lot on San Marcos Boulevard. I took photos of it from several different viewpoints, and then as we were driving away I found the perfect composition. Unfortunately, Heather was in no mood to turn back and I was in no mood to try persuading her. Fortunately, it's still raining so I may get another chance!

Storm Reveler

It's been raining here since last night, and it's supposed to continue through Sunday at least. Winter is my favorite quarter at school; it's nice and cool, and I love the rain. Also I think women all bundled up in cold-weather gear are adorable, so that's a nice little bonus. :P

Anyway, this is a crow sitting on a semi trailer enjoying a little shower. Or at least I assume he's enjoying it. Otherwise he'd find some cover, right? There's another one I've seen several times that perches on the street light outside my bedroom window.

I took a couple of other photos today, but I think this one is the best.

Cold Reception

I have to cheat again. Sorry. There probably won't be anything exciting until school starts again on Monday. Then this thing will really start to get interesting, I think.

This is a closeup photo of my car's antenna base one frosty morning. It turned out pretty cool, pun not intended.

Holly and the Cube

Holly had some insight into solving the Rubik's Cube today, and it compelled her to buy one of her own (she was playing with Mike's). She was explaining to Heather that it's basically a logic puzzle and involves more planning than simply matching colors. Holly's not usually one for logical or mathematical puzzles (just ask her about sudoku), so it was a bit surprising. I'm so proud. :P

Later we went to the mall in search of a crimson-and-black Nintendo DS. DSes are very hard to find right now, unfortunately for me; I didn't think they'd be such a hot Christmas item, but clearly I was wrong. I've heard that a couple of Gamestops might have a few, but said stores are nowhere near me... :-/

ATM Keypad

Absolutely nothing of interest happened today, so I had to cheat a little bit. I took this photo on Monday, I believe. It's the keypad of one of the ATMs around town.

Crunk on a Stick

We went to our aunt Diana's house for New Year's Eve, which was a lot of fun. Naydyne and her family were there this year as well. It was good catching up. I cannot believe how much Alex and Alisha have grown up in just two years!

However, it wasn't quite as good once Heather's martinis caught up with her soon after this photo... It's blurry, but all the better to express the, uh, merriment of the moment.

Note about this one: If you want to see a larger version, you'll have to be one of my friends or family on Flickr.